Home searches in probe of Cheifs parking lot death

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Officers searched a suburban Kansas City home Monday as part of an investigation into the death of a man following a parking lot scuffle during the Sunday’s game between the Chiefs and Denver Broncos.

Police spokesman Darin Snapp said detectives learned that evidence related to the man’s death could be found at the Independence home. Authorities hadn’t released the man’s name but described him as in his 20s.

No arrests had been made, but police detained three people for questioning who were expected to be released Monday afternoon, Snapp said. He said they weren’t considered suspects in the man’s death.

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“Right now they’re persons of interest,” he said.

According to police, officers responding to a reported disturbance in Lot A at Truman Sports Complex, where Arrowhead Stadium is located, found the man unconscious on the ground. A Jeep owner and his son who returned to the vehicle during the game found the man inside, leading to a scuffle between the two men, Snapp said.

The man found in the Jeep collapsed during the scuffle and the vehicle owner’s son ran to get help, Snapp said. Paramedics administered first aid at the scene before the man was taken to a hospital, where he was declared dead, he said.

It wasn’t clear if the men knew each other or if the Jeep owner had been in the stadium watching the game or if he had remained outside to tailgate with other fans.

An autopsy was being performed to determine how the man died, and anyone who witnessed the altercation was being asked to contact police.

“We don’t know if the person had a health condition, had a heart attack. We don’t know,” Snapp said Sunday. “We’re going to investigate this as a homicide until we hear differently. Right now it’s a suspicious death but we are going to investigate it as a homicide.”

Ted Crews, a spokesman for the Chiefs, said the team was aware of the incident but could not comment further because of the police investigation.

The death came one year to the day after Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher shot and killed his girlfriend, Kasandra Perkins, on Dec. 1, 2012, at a home not far from the stadium. Belcher then drove to the team’s practice facility and fatally shot himself in front of then-coach Romeo Crennel and general manager Scott Pioli.

In September 2012, a gunman attacked a Kansas City Royals employee in the same parking lot, which services Kauffman Stadium as well. The gunman shot the employee once in the abdomen and then returned to his vehicle and committed suicide.